Sure Shots: Julie Dash; Abigail Spencer; Reese Witherspoon

 * Hard to believe it's been more than twenty years since Julie Dash gave us Daughters of the Dust, one of the most important films in African-American history and the first for a black woman to get a major theatrical release. Dash hasn't stopped working, but it's been a long time since her last notable theatrical effort. Coming out of Sundance is the news she'll helm Tupelo 77, an indie drama about a group of Mississippi women who frequent a local diner, dealing with various issues during a hot summer of 1977 just after Elvis Presley died. Casting is underway, with filming to begin this summer. [THR]

* No longer content with just being known for playing a notch on Don Draper's bed post on AMC's Mad Men, Abigail Spencer has been making some serious moves of late. A few days ago we learned of her joining the Joss Whedon scripted romance, In Your Eyes, and now she's making the move into screenwriting with the romantic comedy, Wrong Number. Produced by James Franco, who she met while filming Oz the Great and Powerful, the story focuses on two people who make a connection during a wrong number phone call during a critical moment in their lives. Annarose King will direct, with the cast consisting of Andrew Leeds, Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews, Camille Chen and Eric Roberts. [THR]

* Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds are set to star as famous artists Margaret and Walter Keane in Big Eyes, a biopic on the couple who famously divorced over a dispute about which one actually painted their iconic, doe-eyed images of children. Written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karazsewski, the film is produced by Tim Burton, a devoted fan of Margaret's work and once commissioned a painting from her of Lisa Marie. The Keane story is actually a really interesting one, and should make a great story on the silver screen. For whatever reason, she allowed her painting to be sold under Walter's name, and so over the years he claimed all the credit. When they divorced, neither wanted to relinquish the rights to the work, and the proceedings became so contention that it went all the way to federal court. Margaret would eventually win out by painting one of her famous images right there in the courtroom, while Walter refused. [Variety]